A huge piece of the Petermann Glacier has separated from northwestern Greenland.
On August 4, 2026, a 76 km² slab of ice broke away from the part of the glacier floating on the ocean. This area is larger than 10,000 football fields, and the ice could be up to 150 m thick. According to the European Space Agency, this is the largest loss of floating ice from Petermann since 2012.
The Petermann Glacier after a 76 km² section of its floating tongue broke away in August 2026.
Credit: ESA, Copernicus Sentinel-1 data 2026, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.
This separation is known as calving. The glacier flows from the land toward the sea, where its end forms a long floating tongue of ice. When a crack cuts far enough across this tongue, a section can break away and become an iceberg. Here, its broad and relatively flat shape also fits what scientists call an ice island.
The event did not take researchers by surprise: observations carried out in April had already revealed deformations and fractures in the glacial tongue. On August 3, radar images showed severe deterioration near its central section. By the following day, the block had separated from the eastern side.
This sequence of events could be tracked using the European Sentinel-1 satellites. Unlike a conventional camera, their radar can observe the surface day and night and through the clouds. During this period, Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-1D could revisit the area just one day apart. Researchers were therefore able to track the progression of the cracks and the movement of the ice.
Size of the new iceberg detached from the Petermann Glacier compared with Manhattan Island in New York
Petermann has already fractured and produced large blocks in 2008, 2010 and 2012. Its floating tongue then remained relatively stable, despite several smaller breakups. Two other sections are currently weakened by existing cracks. The European Space Agency estimates their areas at approximately 97 and 87 km² if they eventually break away.
The breakup of ice that is already floating does not directly raise sea levels, since it was already displacing water. Its evolution nevertheless remains important for understanding the glacier. The floating tongue is part of a system connected to ice on land, whose melting or flow into the ocean can, in turn, contribute to rising sea levels.
The new iceberg will now become an object of study in its own right. Such tabular blocks are less common in the Arctic than around Antarctica. Teams plan to track its movement and fragmentation using satellites, aerial observations and positioning data. Canada is also monitoring its trajectory, as future fragments could obstruct navigation and some offshore installations.